The age old question – show prices upfront or hide them. If you’re a photographer and have been increasing your prices lately and are struggling with bookings, you may be asking yourself should my photography prices be on my website?

Usually people park in one of two camps, and generally feel very passionately about their opinion. It’s either: Yes, you should always have your pricing on your website so that you can be transparent, or, no, don’t post your pricing or you’ll scare people away.

So, the first question we’re going to answer today is about brand perception. How do you want your brand to be perceived? Is your website currently giving off that vibe? If you want to be known as an affordable photographer, and a big part of your brand is about being accessible and inexpensive, then you’ll want your photography prices to be on your website.

I would add that, if this is your brand perception, you need to focus on volume, with very little time spent on costumer service, or you’ll burn yourself out quickly and make very little money.

Want to know how to earn money as a photographer? Check out this blog here.

However, if your brand is a luxury brand that caters to a high end client and your website aesthetic looks luxury and your copy sounds luxury, then you have a few more questions to ask:

Am I looking to save time in my business? Or am I looking to maximize inquiries?

If you’re a luxury photographer and you are looking to save time in your business, and you don’t need as many inquiries as you have, I recommend you put your starting price on your website. This will weed out anyone who looks at your website and loves your work but can’t afford you or doesn’t see the value. This way, you’ll spend less time on inquiries that don’t book, and more time with inquiries who are expecting your high prices and willing to invest.

However, if you’re not very busy and want to see more inquiries in your inbox and have great success with showing value over the phone, then you might want to experiment with taking prices off your website and replacing it with “inquire for pricing”. This will allow more people who won’t be a perfect fit to find their way into your workflow, but there’s always a chance that once you’ve connected with them, they may decide the investment is worth it. Or, at very least, it will give you a lot of practice with leads and help you figure out what needs fixing in your workflow! Keep in mind, though, that this does create some friction and there may be leads who would have been happy to work with you, but wanted a simple answer to the questions of whether or not they could afford you before they reach out.

Personally, I have my starting prices on my website. As a busy mom of three running multiple businesses, I really only want to spend time chatting with leads who are already well qualified and happy to spend my minimum before even seeing their images or connecting with me. This wasn’t always the case, and when I first switched to IPS and built a luxury brand, I kept pricing off my website so I could connect with leads, show them value and get comfortable being on the phone.

Neither is wrong or right, but both having photography pricies on your website and keeping them hidden until inquiry have pros and cons.

Enjoy this post? Find more like it:

• Outsourcing in your Photography Business
• 10 Things to Do in your Slow Season
• How do I grow my photography business?

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